Semantic Layer/Digital Twins
Catena-X creates a central, uniform, and consistent solution for the daily challenges of the automotive industry. In this context, the provision or exchange of data is an essential requirement for the success of our network. For this purpose, Catena-X provides various methods, tools, and standards to ensure semantic interoperability. Digital Twins have established themselves here as a central element for structuring and accessing data. With the help of defined semantics, both data provision and app development are simplified and encouraged.
Digital Twin Registry
The Digital Twin represents an essential key technology of our present age. It connects the physical world with the digital world and acts as an enabler of our Catena-X network. Our open-source solution is based on a standardized programming interface of the Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA) and its Asset Administration Shell.
The Digital Twin Registry provides a central source of information ("phone book"): all digital twins and their sub models, which contain various aspects of relevant information and services within the data ecosystem, are registered here. In addition to registering new digital twins, they can also be found and viewed at this point along with their sub models. Digital twins are relevant both for data providers, who supply the agreed data in the agreed form and make it discoverable via the registry, and for data or service consumers, who can offer value-added services based on this data and find out which providers exist via the registry. The agreed content can be viewed and clearly linked in the Semantic Hub.
Semantic Hub
Semantic models are used to structure data. As a concept, they make it possible to give fundamental meaning to data and their relationships. In the context of data modeling and data organization they realize the development of applications as well as the maintenance of data consistency.
In Catena-X, semantic data models are provided in a suitable publication system, the so-called Semantic Hub. For data or service providers, the Semantic Hub presents a foundation for the use and reuse of semantic models. For this reason, the publication of a semantic data model takes place under the specification of a version. This supports transparency as well as control over all semantic models and their release status.
Dr. Thomas Henn
Product Owner
Dr. Birgit Boss
Working Group Lead Semantic Layer including Digital Twins